Sunday, August 09, 2015

Five of the strongest fictional single moms

Lulu Nanapush, who appears in several of Louise Erdrich’s novels, including Love Medicine and Tracks, is the mother of eight boys and one girl by a variety of fathers. Although she has a busy romantic life, she manages to maintain an orderly home. “Even with eight boys her house was neat as a pin. The candy bowl on the table sat precisely on its doily,” Erdrich writes. “All her furniture was brushed and straightened.” Perhaps the best thing about Lulu is her confidence in her choices, and her lack of concern for those who judge her. She says, “When they tell you that I was heartless, a shameless man-chaser, don’t ever forget this: I loved what I saw. And yes, it is true that I’ve done all the things they say. That’s not what gets them. What aggravates them is I’ve never shed one solitary tear. I’m not sorry. That’s unnatural. As we all know, a woman is supposed to cry.”